The Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank provides over 15 million pounds of food each year to those who are facing hunger in the 11 parishes of Louisiana in and around Baton Rouge.

To be able to distribute all the groceries it does, the food bank receives food shipments from the usda. However, just last week the food bank did not receive six shipments of food that it usually does.

Shipments have been cancelled some years due to uncertainty of certain food items. The numbers lost from these shipments, however, left many concerned about future shipments. Food bank volunteer, Carson Jenkins, has more to say on the matter.

“Not only is it very alarming for our own Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank as our Baton Rouge families may be unsure as to whether they’re going to be getting the adequate food that they need for this year and the following years, but also the national trends are very alarming as food banks all across the nation are struggling to get the food on the tables and that’s an indication of really big systematic supply chain issues,” Carson said.

These were technically bonus shipments of food, but they were still very important to serving an area where one in seven people and one in five children face hunger.

The reason for the cancellation of the shipments is still unknown. Because of the missing food, the food bank is now considering cutting back on what they give each family this year.

“Cutting back on the food portions for each family is a very dire situation; however, all it’s really going to do is increase the strain on other nonprofit organizations trying to get food to the people who really need it,” Carson said. “And it’s really just going to increase malnutrition and the fact that really not every family has food security here in America.”

While the cancellations have caused a lot of uncertainty, there are still things people can do to help out. The food bank is always accepting money donations and donations of canned and nonperishable foods.

The food bank is also always accepting new volunteers. There are opportunities for food sorting, administrative tasks, and mobile pantry service.